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3.08.2009

The pastor of an Illinois church was shot and killed during a service this morning, according to the Maryville Police Department. CBS Affiliate KMOV reports that a gunman opened fire after 8:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill., fatally shooting Pastor Fred Winters. Illinois State Police spokesperson Ralph Timmens said that gunman walked up one of the aisles at the church and exchanged words with Winters, who walked over towards him. The suspect then pulled out a .45 caliber handgun and fired one shot. Timmens said the gun then jammed, and the assailant pulled out a knife and started stabbing himself. When parishioners tried to subdue him, he stabbed two others in the process. Officials don't know if Winters and the suspect knew each other. "We don't know the relationship (between the gunman and pastor), why he's here or what the circumstances came about that caused him in the first place to be here," Timmins said. Winters was taken to Anderson Hospital in Maryville, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, according to spokeswoman Natalie Head. Two others wounded at the church were airlifted to another hospital, Head said. The Rev. Mark Jones, another pastor at First Baptist, said he briefly saw the gunman but did not recognize him by name or face. "We have no idea what this guy's motives were," Jones said outside the church. "We don't know if we'll ever know that." Police said at the time there were approximately 150 people in the church for the first of three Sunday services. Many coming for the second service arrived to find emergency vehicles directing them away from the church, which reportedly has 1,500 members. Some parked at a nearby senior center where they were consoling one another.